Then the Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel: If any of the people—men or women—betray the Lord by doing wrong to another person, they are guilty. They must confess their sin and make full restitution for what they have done, adding an additional 20 percent and returning it to the person who was wronged. But if the person who was wronged is dead, and there are no near relatives to whom restitution can be made, the payment belongs to the Lord and must be given to the priest. Those who are guilty must also bring a ram as a sacrifice, and they will be purified and made right with the Lord. All the sacred offerings that the Israelites bring to a priest will belong to him. Each priest may keep all the sacred donations that he receives.” Numbers 5:5-10
Note on verses 5-8
God included restitution, a unique concept for that day, as part of his law for Israel. When someone was robbed, the guilty person was required to restore the loss to the victim and pay an additional interest penalty. When we have wronged others, we ought to do more than apologize. We should look for ways to set matters right and, if possible, leave the victim even better off than when we harmed him or her. When we have been wronged, we should still seek restoration rather than striking out in revenge.
It is pretty strong wording to say that we betray the Lord by doing wrong to another person. In fact, to think about it, we wrong someone everyday strictly speaking of the Word of God. Whenever we drive down the road and experience ‘road rage’ and think a bad or nasty thought about the other driver, whenever we have an unkind thought about that bum that always sits on that corner, whenever we get angry at our spouse, brother, sister, mother, father, child etc, we do wrong to that person, even if it is never verbalized.
Jesus said Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. Matthew 6:21 Since the scriptures also say “Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin. “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. Leviticus 19:17-18 and Jesus said ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 22:39 All these unspoken thoughts of anger, frustration and bitterness, if left unchecked are sin and because they are towards others that makes it wrong. If, however, we confront the person, as the scripture in Leviticus says, we then bring it out in the open and give the Lord opportunity to work in our hearts and minds, but not only ours, the person with which we have wronged. When we bring all matters to Christ and take our thoughts captive unto Him, we are not held in guilt of wronging others and betraying the Lord.
Since we are called to love God and love our neighbor, we cannot harbor negative thoughts against anyone for any reason. God has called us to a life of love, not one of resentment and hatred. That is how we betray God. And as you know, I have done exactly that over the past couple of years. I have betrayed God regarding the negativity that I have harbored in my heart towards my husband and now, with God’s help, I will be a better follower of Christ. Instead of harboring negative thoughts, I am asking God daily to strengthen my resolve to live as a child of His light and to do away with the negative thoughts I have about my husband and our marriage, to accept him just as he is and wait patiently for God to work in his life and heart. In the place of the negative thoughts, I am asking God to replace them with positive thoughts, things that are good, that will ensure love will blossom instead of hindering it. Love can only grow where there is uplifting and positive thoughts, not negative thoughts. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8
I’m not even thinking about earthly ‘romantic’ love. I’m speaking of a godly, God centered love, one that would be especially pleasing to God because it comes from Him, not my own feelings. In this way, I cannot betray God! If I seek Him first, implore Him to fill me with His love and to abolish the negativity within my own heart, then I am doing His will and living in His light.
So, how do we pay restitution for the secret sins or hidden wrongs that we do to others? First, we must repent and ask God’s forgiveness. It may not be something that we have to go to the person we have wronged in our heart, but maybe we endeavor to be more compassionate towards that person, replacing our evil thoughts with right action. It may be someone that has no clue that you have harbored unkind thoughts about them. But, they will notice a difference in how you treat them because all of a sudden, God’s love will be working in you towards them. They may not know it or understand it, but they will respond to it. Even if you never allowed your thoughts to be made manifest in actions, they will detect the change because it is from God. Don’t be fooled by thinking they will never know. They may not be able to put a finger on it, but they will notice something is different. In that, we praise and thank God for His goodness, kindness and mercy that He worked through you to reach some unsuspecting person.
I have shared my broken heart with you over the course of the past couple of years. And much of it was ugly. I’m not saying that all of the negativity is gone. I do feel fairly comfortable in saying that I have forgiven my husband to a great extent. I still detect some resentment regarding his ‘love affair’ with his court battles with his ex-wife. I feel short-changed because he spends so much time thinking, planning, maneuvering to be prepared and to ‘do war’ with her in court. I suppose I am selfish, in that, I want him to think about me and our marriage more than he thinks about that. I want him to trust God for all of his battles and focus on our day to day living instead of spending so much of his time thinking about court and how to out-wit her.
All that is to say, I am much better than I was a year ago regarding my thoughts toward my husband and our marriage, yet I still have a long way to go. The wounds are healing and I am beginning to be ready to move onward. Praise God for His infinite grace.
Now, I have to Fix [my] thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8 regarding my husband and our marriage. Only when I can consistently think these things, will I pay restitution towards my husband. Once I have accomplished right thinking, only with God’s help will I be able to do this, then God’s mercy, kindness and grace will shine through. My husband will notice the difference, even if I don’t explain the entire process. When I reach that place of total forgiveness, then the peace of God will fill my heart and pour out into our lives together. That is the restitution, at least in my case, that will be paid.
In this way, though I have betrayed God, I will be made right with Him. This can only happen because Jesus visited us in the flesh, knows myweaknesses, died for my sins and rose again to be seated at the right hand of God. Only by the covering of His shed blood, can my betrayal to God be wiped clean by my believing in Jesus’ work on the cross and acting on that belief through my change of heart and attitude toward my husband.
What’s more, as I continue to display this wonderful miracle of a changed heart, those that I have discussed my negativity about my husband will also take notice and restoration will begin in their hearts too. They will see the miracle of God in me, that He took what was so grotesquely wrong and sin towards me and even within me and changed it to something so beautifully simple and graceful as forgiveness through His love that they will be drawn closer to God as well. That would be full restitution towards my husband. That is what I am for, to be Christ’s servant, extending full and complete forgiveness. And by my being able to do so, through Christ, others will to that have ‘taken on my offenses.’ In that way, they will be able to ‘follow’ me by following Christ within them.
Christ receives all glory, praise and honor.
Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Psalm 139:23-24 I give my body to You because of all You have done for me. Let my body be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind You will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship You. I won’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but I will let You transform me into a new person by changing the way I think. Then I will learn to know Your will for me, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:1-2 Amen.
May God provide the increase
P.S. I’m sorry that this is the first post this week. Have a great day!
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